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History of
the Great Smoky Mountains
The
Great Smoky Mountains have some deep rich history
dating back to the 1700's. The first European settlers
found themselves amongst the Cherokee Indians. After
adopting much of the European culture, the majority of the
Cherokee were forcibly moved to land in Oklahoma, an event
referred to as the "Trail of Tears". The Cherokee that
remained or made their way back are the ancestors of some that
live on the reservation near The
Great Smoky Mountains National Park today.
By the 1900's life was
much easier than it had been when the area was first settled.
People had lived off the land; farming, hunting for food,
cutting the trees down for building, and raising livestock.
Many areas that had at one time been forest were turned into
pastures and clearings for towns.
By the 20th century
things had changed again in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Agricultural lifestyles gave way to lumbering. Within a
span of about twenty years most people did not depend on
agriculture as their main stay - people were dependent upon
manufacturing, lumber and store bought items. Lumber and
logging boom towns sprang up all over the place, some of them
still in existence today: Elkmont, Proctor, Smokemont and
Tremont.
Much of the beautiful
forest landscape was being cleared and unless something changed
in a hurry, trees would become almost extinct in what we now
call The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Intervention
came in the way of a declaration - The Great Smoky Mountain Park
was established in 1934. The 20% of forest that remained
within the boundaries of the park was preserved. The
people that lived in the park (about 1,200) moved out and left
behind buildings, mills, schools and churches. Over 70 of
these structures still remain and are maintained by the park,
making it the largest collection of historic log buildings in
the Eastern United States.
Below is a brief
timeline of events and milestones in the
Great Smoky Mountains...
| 1540 |
Hernando De Soto
explores the southern Appalachian Mountains and
encounters the Cherokee who had inhabited the region for
centuries |
| 1775 |
Botanist William
Bartram explores the southern Appalachians |
| 1795 |
Mingus and Hughes
families clear homesteads in Oconaluftee River Valley |
| 1814 |
Caldwells establish
first homestead in Cataloochee Valley |
| 1818-1821 |
First non-Indians
settle in Cades Cove |
| 1819 |
Cherokee relinquish
claim to the last of their lands in the Smoky Mountains |
| 1830 |
Population of Cades
Cove is 271 |
| 1838-1839 |
Most of the Cherokee
tribe moved from Southeast to Oklahoma along the "Trail
of Tears" |
| 1839 |
Oconaluftee Turnpike
between Oconaluftee and Indian Gap completed |
| 1850 |
Population of Cades
Cove is 685 |
| 1861-1865 |
American Civil War
Mountaineers are divided in their allegiances. |
| 1870-1875 |
John P. Cable Mill
built in Cades Cove |
| 1882 |
Little Greenbrier
School built |
| 1886 |
Mingus Mill built |
| 1900 |
Population of Cades
Cove is 708 |
| 1903-1904 |
Lumber companies set
up operations on Eagle and Hazel Creeks |
| 1908 |
Elkmont logging camp
constructed |
| 1910 |
Population of
Cataloochee is 1,251 |
| 1913 |
Horace Kephart's Our
Southern Highlanders is published |
| 1934 |
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is established |
| 1939 |
Little River Lumber
Company finishes cutting timber in the Tremont area |
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